Deadly Garment Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Lives

No fewer than 16 people have lost their lives after a massive fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the fatality count could climb.

16 bodies have been retrieved but were charred beyond recognition, the fire service stated.

Distraught relatives gathered outside the multi-story factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in search of their family members still unaccounted for.

The fire, which broke out at the factory around lunchtime, was extinguished after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, authorities reported.

Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports indicated.

Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings was the origin point.

According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse contained bleaching powder, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Synthetic materials also releases hazardous smoke when burned.

Security personnel are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official informed journalists.

An investigation on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he noted.

Weeping family members gathered outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them holding photographs of their lost relatives.

Present at the scene is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.

"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my child back," he expressed to journalists.

The catastrophic occurrence has once again underscored the safety concerns facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs millions of workers and is a crucial contributor to export earnings for the nation.